


How It Happened

by confessyourlove



Category: Supernatural
Genre: At least pretend it's funny, Attempt at Humor, Cuteness that is Destiel, Fluff, M/M, Sam Being a Funny Asshole
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-19
Updated: 2013-10-19
Packaged: 2017-12-29 20:29:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1009730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/confessyourlove/pseuds/confessyourlove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>It all started with Colorado and vampires and a girl named Monica. It started with a huge misunderstanding that led into (sort-of-but-not-really) an epiphany. </i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>Actually, it all started with a phone call from Bobby.</i>
</p>
<p>Dean and Castiel tell the story of how they got together. Sort-of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How It Happened

It all started with Colorado and vampires and a girl named Monica. It started with a huge misunderstanding that led into (sort-of-but-not-really) an epiphany. 

Actually, it all started with a phone call from Bobby.

"Bobby. I gotta say, it's not the best time to be calling about Tori Spelling right now."

"Shut the hell up, boy. That ain't what I'm calling you about."

"Well can it wait? Sam's getting his ass handed to him and I need to salt and burn the thing before he starts crying."

"Fine, hurry up. Idjit."

_______________

 

Apparently it couldn't wait, because Bobby caught wind of a nest of vampires holding innocent people captive in an abandoned barn west of Colorado. Bobby also told the boys that he would have done the job himself if his ass wasn't planted on a stupid wheelchair, so _you boys better do a damn good job or I will smack you._

They didn't waste any time; shortly after the good ol' salt-and-burn job in Austin, they grabbed their bags, threw them in the Impala and drove for twelve hours straight.

(The drive was technically supposed to take fourteen hours but Dean had never been one to follow the speed limit. Plus, it was funny seeing Sam's hair whip around his face like he's in one of those pansy-ass male shampoo commercials.)

When they finally stopped at a motel for some shut-eye, it was no surprise that his little brother bitched about his now very chaotic, vaguely nest-like hair. "Nice going jerk, you’ve messed up my hair!"

"No, I like it like that. It covers your face." And with a smirk, Dean further ruffled his brother's hair which earned him a punch and a scowl.

It was worth it.

_______________

 

Castiel arrived the morning after. 

He had called Sam prior to his arrival to know their whereabouts, and on the phone he noticed that Sam was speaking in a sort of tone that Castiel usually heard when Sam had just pulled a prank on his brother, and was struggling to contain his glee. All of a sudden, Castiel wasn't so sure he wanted to go anymore. His instincts told him it was wiser to visit Dean some other time than be caught in the middle of a bloodbath.

(The urge to see Dean won, however, and Castiel ended up flying to the brothers' location as he mumbled to himself about how he needed to learn how to harden his resolve.)

Castiel's intuition was proven right when he appeared in the motel room and he was welcomed with a deep frown on Dean's face and a wide grin on Sam's. Castiel wanted to turn a blind eye to the scene before him, yet he couldn't help but tell Sam as he gestured at Dean, "I have seen that same look on my brothers' faces right before they smite sinners." Dean huffed before turning his attention back to the gun he was cleaning.

Sam snorted and said, "Dean's just butthurt 'cause he had to eat a tofu burger this morning." With a sigh he added, "Come on, it wasn't that bad."

Dean whips around to face them so fast Castiel was sure the older Winchester was dizzy. "Wasn't _that bad?_ It was like eating a bland sponge sandwiched between two buns! And salad? I didn't order salad. I wouldn’t even touch that thing with a ten-foot pole." Dean flailed his arms and glared at Sam. "But I know from that shit-eating grin that it has your name written all over it."

Castiel looked towards Sam just in time to see the younger Winchester's lips twitch upwards. Then, as if a bell was dinged and a whistle was blown, Dean dropped his gun and leapt at Sam, all fists and curses. Sam on the other hand, gave as good as he got and soon enough Dean was caught in a headlock, with Sam's fists messing up his hair and shouting, "Here's a little payback for last night, jerk!" 

Castiel did nothing other than roll his eyes and think to himself about how he could not believe that the potentiality of an apocalypse rests in the hands of these two boys.

_______________

 

Once the brothers had reached a compromise where Dean promised not to keep pulling Sam's pants down if, as Dean put it, Sam promised to _stop being a bitch,_ they briefed Castiel on the hunt.

The angel insisted that he tag along for added man power, and honestly, Sam and Dean were more than happy to let him. Especially Dean. Not only did it mean that the job would be over and done with in half the time it usually took because Castiel would be smiting vampires left to right like a badass, it also meant more face time with Castiel. And Dean seriously could not find it in himself to complain.

Sam of course, saw through Dean’s motives from the get go. When Castiel offered a hand with the hunt and Dean eagerly accepted, the asshole smiled and threw Dean his best _‘Oh? What do we have here?’_ face.

Dean tried to insert as much _‘shut up, dude or I will knee you in the face’_ look into his eyes as a reply.

Sam snickered. “I think it’s adorable, Dean.”

“Shut. Up.” Dean was sure he was turning red now because Sam laughed louder.

Castiel looked back and forth between them with a bewildered look on his face. "I don't understand."

No matter how confused the angel looked, Dean would never explain to him why, right at this moment, he felt like he would love nothing more than to be swallowed whole by a Wendigo. He mutters, "Nothing. Was an inside joke." Dean must have turned a deeper shade of crimson since Sam is doubled over now, clutching at his stomach.

Dean didn’t know what he liked better: when Sam didn’t know about how Dean cared for Castiel a little more than brotherly (Dean was able to pine after the angel privately then), or when it wasn’t a secret anymore. Dean was—to put it lightly—glad that his brother actually understood. In fact when Dean blurted out that he liked the angel, his little shit of a brother just smirked and said, “And here I was, thinking I was stuck with an emotionally blind, emotionally cripple, totally in denial brother. I was so sure I had to beat the confession out of you,” before he changed the channel to a stupid documentary about moose. (Mooses? Meese? Heck if Dean knew.) 

Dean turned his attention back on Castiel, who smiled fondly at the brothers with his head tilted a little to the left. And if Castiel's smile grew fonder when he realised Dean was looking, Dean tried not to dwell too much on how that made him happy. 

_______________

 

On the way to the vampires’ nest, they planned their course of action. Dean originally wanted to barge in, _all guns blazing,_ but Sam preferred a more tactical entrance. Castiel didn’t really care either way. They dusted their clothes with the ashes of burned saffron, skunk's cabbage and trillium to forestall detection because _if we're just going to walk in there, Dean, we should at least make sure they're not already waiting by the door ready to suck our blood with bendy straws._

Dean grabbed two machetes from the trunk, while Sam strapped a bag that contained syringes filled with dead man’s blood to his hip. 

Dean laughed as he joked, “Nice fanny pack, dude.” Sam grumbled and gave him the bitch face to top all bitch faces. 

The walk up to the barn was sort of therapeutic for Dean. The soft crunch of dead leaves and the low whisper of the wind were almost enough for Dean to feel completely at ease if, you know, they weren’t sneaking into a barn full of vampires. They had to be quiet—vampires were known to have a sharp sense of everything. They should know, they've been around vampires long enough.

("Remember Gordon? That guy was a party."

"Who is this Gordon, Dean?"

"Just this dude who had this massive hard-on for Sammy. Too bad Sam had to slice his head off."

"Oh.")

Once there, Dean turned to his brother and Castiel as silent confirmation, a question of _'you good to go?’_ Both nodded. But instead of actually moving to the door, Dean ended up being distracted by pale skin and blue eyes and messy dark hair and _shit._ Shaking himself, Dean slowly pushed the front door open, and was quite taken aback when they were greeted by a quiet barn. Then he felt like kicking himself because _duh. Morning. Nocturnal. Vamps are asleep. Pull it together, man._ He gestured at Sam to find the hostages before nodding at Castiel to follow him. Sam disappeared to one of the locked doors while Dean and Castiel crept up to the barn's second floor, careful not to step on the middle of the stairs to minimize the noise.

At the top of the stairs, however, Dean accidentally tapped a stray tin bucket with his boot. The contact only made a soft clang but it was enough. The vampires woke up one after the other, and all turned to face Dean and Castiel.

“Shit,” Dean muttered. There has to be at least twenty of them. "We gotta get down, Cas. Come on." 

The vampires charged towards them, and Dean didn’t spare a second thought as he jumped from the second floor to the ground, landing on the balls of his feet then rolling away from a vampire that almost landed on top of him. He sprung up, machete ready, and searched for Castiel. It seemed that the angel jumped as well, and was now pinned by a vampire, sharp teeth and fingernails dangerously close. Dean hurried to Castiel's aid by chopping the vampire’s head off, finding it quite amusing when Castiel grimaced as the vampire’s head dropped quite close to his face.

“Dean!” He heard Sam shout from the farthest side of the barn. Dean hauled Castiel by the elbow and ran to Sam, who was carrying a bloody and beat-up woman and a sobbing boy.

Sam handed the woman and the child to Castiel, saying, “We’ve got it covered. Take them someplace safe.” Castiel hesitated, sneaking a look at Dean before saying, "Be careful. I will return." Then he vanished with the couple in tow. 

Dean fixed his gaze on the remaining vampires as they snarled and bared their fangs at him. He quickly counted in his head. Twenty-two. _At least the hostages are safe now,_ Dean thought to himself until he turned to see a male vampire step in front of the pack, gripping a teenage girl with his sharp teeth close to her neck. The girl was breathing heavily, eyes wide with fear. 

"Son of a bitch.”

The brothers were on high alert now there's an innocent life at stake. Out of the corner of his eye Dean saw Sam clench his fist, ready to attack or defend; whichever one was needed first. It was silent—as though everyone waited for the other party to make a move—when all of a sudden the captive elbowed the vampire just below his sternum and propelled herself away, startling Sam and Dean into action. 

Dean charged at the vampire right behind the girl and chopped his head off, while Sam pulled the girl to him and stepped forward, acting as a barrier between the girl and the vampires. _Ah Sammy, always the hero,_ Dean thought. Dean then sidestepped to behead another vampire that came too close. Thinking that Sam was fully capable of holding his own, Dean let his attention leave his brother for a minute—Dean swore it was only a minute—only to hear Sam shout out in pain, while the girl gasped in shock. Undeterred, Sam pulled his arms back and swings, hacking the vampire's head off with such a force that the head flew off a couple of meters before landing on the ground with a sickening thud. While the head was in the air, blood splattered everywhere. It's a good thing Dean had his mouth closed or else he would have gotten a drop or two fly into his mouth. _Gross._ But it wasn't as bad as Sam. The vampire's blood was all over his younger brother's face and neck, but Sam didn't seem to care. His mouth was fixed in a grimace from the pain. The front of Sam's shirt where the vampire had dug its fingers into Sam's chest turned the color of dark red as the blood seeped through it. 

_Crap._

"Sam!"

Sam breathed through his nose and grunted, "I'm okay." 

Dean sliced and cut as many vampires as he could in order to get to where Sam was, and he saw that Sam was doing everything he could to protect the girl, even while his entire chest was bleeding. Sam stabbed every vamp that came close with dead man's blood, and if they weren't completely surrounded Dean would have given his brother round of applause for being so awesome. Castiel chose that time to poof back in, right in the middle with Sam and Dean.

"Did you take a nap, Cas? What took you so long?" Dean kept his eyes on the smug vampires who watched them like they were dinner. Sam was breathing heavily at his side.

"I wasn't even gone for five minutes, Dean." The angel retorted, his bitch-face in place.

"Will you two stop arguing like an old married couple and focus on the task at hand, please?" Sam snapped. If they weren't at risk of being ripped apart by vampires and Sam didn't have massive cuts on his chest, Dean would have laughed at the bitchface Sam was pulling right now. 

(Despite the dire circumstances they were in, Dean idly wondered who would win if Sam and Castiel had a bitch face-off. 

Probably Sam. It would always be Sam.)

Sam's contorted expression worried Dean. "How deep is the damage, Sam?"

Sam hissed. "Vamp wanted to skewer me, I think."

Castiel cleared his throat and says, "I do think there are times when the two of you forget I am here." He pressed two fingers on Sam's forehead then boom, Sam was okay again.

_Gotta love angels, man._

"Thanks, Cas." Sam took a relieved breath. "What's the plan? There's too many of them." Sam muttered through gritted teeth.

Dean counted again. Seventeen. "You've got to be kidding me. How can a nest have over twenty vampires? This is a load of bullshit." Dean considered their options. _Flight?_ Dean doubted Castiel had enough fingers to zap all four of them out of the barn at once. _What about fight?_ Seventeen vampires. There's only three of them. It would be difficult, but it sure as hell was not impossible. 

Dean gripped his machete a little tighter as he cast a sidelong glance at Castiel. The angel did not miss the wink that Dean threw him. "It's time to gank these sons of bitches." 

_______________

 

The hunt was pretty much smooth sailing after that. Castiel used his angel mojo like nobody's business, taking down two vampires at a time. Again, _gotta love angels, man._

After the bodies of the vampires had been disposed, and Sam had done his magnificent hair flip like a goddamn Redken hair model, Dean felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He just wanted to take a nap into next week as a testament to how exhausted he was. But first, they had to take care of the girl.

“So,” Sam said. “We’ll drive you to wherever you need to go. It’s the least we could do for what happened today.”

“Thanks,” The girl—Monica, as she previously told them—smiled at Sam’s offer. “But uh—just drop me off at the nearest bus station. I’ll make my own way home.”

“Are you sure?” Dean interjected.

“Yeah. Look, whatever happened today, in there,” she pointed at the barn, still looking a bit shaken. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget. I’m probably going to think everyone on the street is a vampire from now on. But thanks. For saving me, and the others.” Her smiled remained as she shrugged.

“No problem. We’re happy to help.” Sam replied, looking every bit like the righteous hero. Any moment now Sam’s going to tackle the girl into a bear hug and sing ‘soft kitty’ while stroking her hair, Dean thought. 

"Okay," she fidgeted. Dean noticed a second later that she kept glancing between him and Castiel. The angel, lacking the necessary knowledge of social norms, found nothing wrong in the way the girl was looking at them and did nothing but stare back, unflinching. Dean turned to Sam only to find that his brother was as confused about this as he was. 

Dean broke the staring contest by gritting out, "What?" (He sounded a little angrier than necessary, when he thought about it. Didn’t mean he was sorry though.)

"Sorry!" She turned red in the cheeks. "I just—you both—uh," She sputtered but then took a deep breath to collect her thoughts. "Don't feel weird or creeped out or anything, but I think you two are an adorable couple." She smiled and Dean could swear her face lit up.

It was Dean's turn to feel his cheeks flush and choke on air. He yelped out a shocked, “What!?” as Sam snorted and sniggered behind him. _The little shit._ "No," Dean shook his head to get his point across. "Cas and I are—"

"Thank you." 

_Okay, what?_ "Cas, what?" Dean snapped his head to look at Castiel, who sported a shy, barely-there smile. Sam was quiet now, obviously surprised by Castiel's reply. 

The angel turned to look at him then, tilting his head in the way Dean was so accustomed to. Sam evidently wanted to add fuel to the fire because he asked, "Why, Dean? Are you two not in a relationship?" He waggled his eyebrows at Dean. "Do you not want to be in one with him?" 

Well shit. It's not like Dean hasn't thought about being with Castiel. They've basically been joined at the hip now after the angel pulled one on that dick Zachariah. But did he really want to be in a relationship with the angel? Like, an honest-to-god, fully committed, _I only have eyes for you_ relationship?

Dean didn't take very long to come up with an answer. And frankly, he wasn't at all freaked out. 

Before Dean could come up with a proper reply though, Sam cleared his throat, pulling him out of his reverie. "Dean?" Sam raised his eyebrows and gave Dean his _'well don't keep us waiting_ face. Dean let out a slow exhale and said, "Yeah, we are. Cas and I. A relationship, I mean." Sam sighed and muttered what Dean could hear as “fucking finally” while Castiel grinned, the grin that made his nose scrunch up and his eyes crinkle. If at that moment Dean couldn't hear what Sam was saying to Monica because his heart was drumming like it was in a rock concert, Dean will never admit that to anybody. 

"Okay," Dean did not take his eyes off of Castiel. "Okay. We're dropping Monica off at the nearest bus station and then we'll drive back to the motel and I," He gestured at himself. "I am going to kiss you like there's no tomorrow, you hear me?" Castiel nodded and held Dean's hand.

Somewhere behind Dean, Sam groaned exasperatingly like the time when he was a teenager and he'd walked in on Dean with a hand down his pants. 

_Ahh,_ Dean thought, _this is the good life._

_______________

 

"And that's how it happened." Dean beamed at them like he's won the lottery. 

"That's it?" Jo asked. "No fireworks, no marriage proposal at the beach, just a kiss in a sleazy motel? Wow Dean, that's awfully romantic." Sam cackled and gave Jo a high-five. 

"Joanna Beth, you are just _jealous_ there's no one pinin' after you." Ellen rolled her eyes at her daughter. Jo scowled. "Well I, for one, am happy for you boys." Bobby and Ash grunt in agreement, which made Dean smile wider.

When Dean told Bobby about his relationship with Cas, he expected Bobby to ask questions, give him a weird look or a smack in the head or _something_ , but he didn't expect the guy to just say, "Finally. I thought you two idjits would never catch a clue."

_Did everyone know about me and Cas before we did?_ Dean wondered as he turned to look at Cas, who was smiling at him like he was the solution to the world's problems and then he thought to himself, _Oh well, not like it matters._

_______________

 

So yes, it all started with a call from Bobby and vampires and a girl named Monica, but it ends with Cas holding Dean's hand and kissing and being the _awesomest, most bad-ass couple ever._

Really, Dean wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
